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Geoscience Careers

Geoscience Careers

Welcome to the geoscience careers page. The information here is intended to help students as they consider careers in the geosciences

You might be starting this career decision early in your schooling. In fact the earlier the better. Many kids know if a career in science is something they want to do well before they get to college.

If you're already in college, it's not too late. You'll need to take lots of courses in not just the sciences but a broad range of liberal-arts disciplines to succeed in the geosciences.

Your Student Career

Your geoscience career begins with a career as a student. Professional development opportunities are plentiful, but you need to plan early and learn about opportunities for clubs, professional organizations, and internships. Talk to your advisor about your interests and plans for the future

The courses you take will depend on your interests and plans. Courses required for the major and listed in the catalog will allow you to graduate but might not be exactly what you need for certain career paths. Some graduate schools will require additional coursework that you would best take at CSC. This typical course schedule is a starting point. Talk this over with your advisor and decide on the courses and career development options that are best for you.

Resources at CSC

If you think you might want to choose geoscience as a career talk to Dr. Mike Leite

See Yourself as a Geoscientist

There are many decisions to make when you choose a career. Most important is whether you would be happy doing the day-to-day work. Visualizing yourself in the roles of a geoscientist is a necessary first step, but how? Start by talking with a teacher or college professor. There are several good videos that can give you a view of geoscience in everyday life. Here are some links:

You will quickly discover that the different specialty areas under Geoscience look quite different from each other. The field is very diverse and at some point you will need to decide on a specialty. These links will help explain the different career paths available to you as you think about a geoscience career. Browsing the job sites like monster.com or geology.com can also give you an idea of the types of jobs now open, and the areas where employment is strongest.

Careers in Paleontology Paleontology demands more planning than other geoscience specialties. A paleontologist is a paleobiologist, a person who studies life of the past. Preparation for a paleontology career should include at least a minor in biology. Courses might include zoology (both invertebrates and vertebrates), botany, comparative anatomy, human anatomy, animal and plant classification, ecology, and biology field courses. Some of these sites will be helpful in planning your paleontology career.

Typical Four-Year Course Plan

The courses listed in the template include everything you would need to graduate with a comprehensive major in geoscience in four years, plus one summer course (field camp). Your plan of study will probably be different depending on your interests and career path. You should talk to your advisor every semester and plan at least a year into the future.